Archive for the 'James Mercer' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

I distinctly recall Shins frontman James Mercer performing so lethargically circa 2003-2007 that his presence – save for his consistently angelic voice – was practically absent on stage. He wasn’t much more engaging when Broken Bells began performing in early 2010, preferring to stay in the shadows, rarely moving more than a step or two from his mic stand.

But something significant must have happened to Mercer in the two years between that time and the Shins’ return to the stage in 2012, because at those shows he was alive: dancing, positively ripping on guitar and beaming every step of the way.

Whatever the reason for the transformation, it’s the best possible result for all his musical ventures. That includes his Broken Bells project with Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse), which, to celebrate the February release of sophomore album After the Disco, put on its most lively and dazzling displays to date Saturday at Coachella and Tuesday night at Hollywood’s Fonda Theatre.

Though the fest appearance (repeating this weekend) impressed with enormous, space-themed visuals on the Outdoor Theatre stage, the Localchella gig had several advantages: an intimate setting, dedicated fans that seemed to further inspire Mercer’s ultra-suave gestures and impassioned intonations, plus a set list expanded by seven songs. Yet more didn’t necessarily equal better, as new disco-inspired songs like “The Angel and the Fool,” “Control” and “Medicine” lacked dance-inspiring impact, and consequently felt like filler.

Just before Halloween, O.C.-launched outfit Young the Giant dropped its latest single, “It’s About Time.” That’s the first teaser from the group’s next album, Mind Over Matter, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to its self-titled breakthrough from three years ago, due Jan. 21 from Fueled by Ramen Records.

Now the quintet, featuring vocalist Sameer Gadhia (above), has revealed dates for the initial leg of touring behind that disc, kicking off Feb. 4 at the Majestic Ventura Theater. After a trip to Oakland’s Fox Theater two nights later, the band arrives for a prestigious performance at the Hollywood Palladium on Feb. 7 before heading to San Diego to play the considerably smaller and nondescript box of a venue called Soma.

Cayucas opens all of those gigs. Tickets go on sale Friday, Nov. 22, at 10 a.m., though a pre-sale begins Tuesday at the same time. Prices: $25 for Ventura (available through Ticketfly.com), $29.50 for the Palladium (LiveNation.com), unavailable so far for Soma (via Lunatiks).

Also worth noting: YTG’s outing ends April 11 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, which would seem to leave room for Coachella sets immediately after that.

James Mercer and the Shins live at Gibson Amphitheatre. Photo: David Hall, for the Register

In the previous lineup of jangly indie-rock favorite the Shins, on tours dating back to 2003's Chutes Too Narrow and earlier, the group's vocalist and principle songwriter, James Mercer, always seemed reluctant to play frontman. His reserved presence – stage-left, not center, never moving much – exuded an air of outright apathy.

While the soaring beauty of his simple guitar and wide-ranging vocals were never diminished by that demeanor, the showmanship of the band itself – every other member just as stoic, save for talkative jokester keyboardist Martin Crandall – was always somewhat lacking.

So it's been an absolute pleasure to see Mercer reinvigorated and overtly joyous at recent festival appearances (chiefly Coachella and Bonnaroo) supporting the first Shins disc in five years, Port of Morrow. I expect some of that newfound moxie, which made for a tremendous showing Tuesday night at Gibson Amphitheatre, stems from a decidedly awesome chemistry with his new bandmates.

Those include former Beck guitarist Jessica Dobson, former Crystal Skulls bassist Yuuki Matthews, Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer, keyboardist Richard Swift and a touring pedal steel and fiddle player – all immensely talented in their own right.

April 22nd, 2012, 10:02 am by ROBERT KINSLER, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

For nearly an hour Saturday evening, James Mercer led the Shins through a set that was the perfect setup for what was to come on the main stage throughout the rest of the night.

Bringing an inviting spirit and a fantastic group of players to the Coachella table, the group's blend of rock, pop and spacier styles really filled the great wide outdoors of the main area of the Empire Polo Field.

In the current Shins lineup, Mercer has found a supporting cast capable of fully extending the magic of the band's recordings into this concert setting. In particular, the lead guitar work of Jessica Dobson (Beck, Deep Sea Diver and a recording artist in her own right) as well as drummer Joe Plummer really stood out.

Along with the obvious delight in hearing them perform a magical version of Neil Young's gem "Helpless" on a perfect night (no wind, no sun!), highlights came via the group's terrific new album Port of Morrow, an epic 10-song collection that was explored with a sense of fun and high adventure.

No, Daft Punk did not turn up at any point during Phoenix's set. There weren't any other surprises amid the five-hour show, either: no Weezer, no Foo Fighters, no No Doubt ... not even the Armenian Comedian.

For the first time in four years, the set times KROQ revealed for its annual weekend of Almost Acoustic Christmas shows turned out to be exactly how the event went down at Gibson Amphitheatre, though the Temper Trap did graciously swap spots with Florence + the Machine when the latter got stuck in traffic on the 405.

Yet, as has happened in the past, what looks so amazing on paper can sometimes prove to be spotty on site. Think back to 2004, Night 1, just about as consistently great a night of music as KROQ has ever presented -- and still Taking Back Sunday were dull, Jimmy Eat World seemed rote and Gwen Stefani's surprise twofer appearance felt out-of-place alongside Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Interpol and the Killers.

Or how about two years later, when the Foo owned the weekend? The Coachella-lite half of that bash had Beck, the Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkley, Snow Patrol … and Panic! at the Disco and Angels & Airwaves, groan. (In retrospect, 2005 looks more solid than ever: Depeche Mode, Coldplay, the White Stripes, Jack Johnson, Death Cab for Cutie, Hot Hot Heat, Nada Surf … even the Bravery weren't bad that night.)

October 11th, 2010, 11:45 pm by DAVID HALL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Every time I journey to a multi-day music festival, I prepare for the most abominable weather. I've come to expect certain extremes -- ungodly heat at Coachella, unrelenting rain and strangling humidity at Bonnaroo, heavy, blood-chilling fog at Outside Lands. But Austin City Limits, with its freakishly spontaneous climate shifts, requires an advanced degree of preparation. Just look at its history; there's no denying the claim.

In 2005, for instance, thousands canceled excursions to Austin in anticipation of torrential rains and wind blown in by fast-approaching Hurricane Rita. But the rains never came. Instead, by the time Coldplay took the main stage to close it out, three days of some of the driest triple-digit weather the city had ever seen culminated in a 14-foot-tall cloud of dust that blanketed the grounds, baffling (and suffocating) fans who decided to stick it out.

Last year, following three more exceedingly sweltering fests, organizers moved it from mid-September to early October and spent millions dust-proofing Zilker Park with swaths of new grass and advanced irrigation systems. And wouldn't you know it? It rained like hell. After the first day, the entire site was overlaid with an unexpected upsurge of soil-turned-sludge, convincing many (including myself) that ACL weather is a cursed business, doomed to baffle and frustrate despite any precaution.

That's why this year -- despite plentiful complaints from out-of-towners who thought the consistently blue skies and mid-80s temps were still too hot -- the weather has never been better. I'll go further than that: the milder elements helped make this the best of the festival's nine-year run. Many will disagree, claiming past lineups -- capped by classics and modern legends like Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters and Tom Petty -- easily trumped this year's, led by the Strokes and Phish on Friday, Muse and Monsters of Folk on Saturday, and closed out by the Eagles' first appearance here.

But at least Wayne Coyne, maniacally inventive frontman of the Flaming Lips (above), agreed with me.

• For the first time since they met 40 years ago, at Elton John's star-making stateside debut at the Troubadour, the Hall of Famer and another legendary piano man, Leon Russell, have collaborated on a full-length recording.

The Union, arriving Oct. 19 from Decca Records, captures the two titans in a genre-leaping live-in-studio session overseen by Oscar- and Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett, with songs penned both by John, 63, and his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin as well as Russell, 68, and Burnett. Neil Young and Brian Wilson provided guest vocals for the 16-track disc; organ great Booker T. Jones, pedal-steel whiz Robert Randolph and a 10-piece gospel choir also contributed.

“In the late '60s and early '70s, the one piano player and vocalist who influenced me more than anybody else was Leon Russell,” John said in a press release. “He was my idol.” The pair went on tour together shortly after those shows at the Troubadour and New York's Fillmore East, and to this day hold each other in high regard, with John's fondness for Russell's music rekindled while on safari in Africa last summer.

Russell, by the way, returns to the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Friday, $25, after playing Thursday at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, $28.50.

Last time around, the neo-psychedelic ensemble dutifully showcased tunes from its self-titled debut in sequential order, adding a sprinkle of spice with a two-cover encore featuring Neil Young's “Don't Let It Bring You Down” and a rendition of “When You Sleep,” from My Bloody Valentine. Considering that these fellas only have 40 minutes worth of original material to boot, it seemed likely that a near-repeat snooze-show was on the horizon.

It's a testament to the band's innovative abilities, then, that against these odds Broken Bells shattered such expectations.

With a transfixing backdrop featuring cosmic landscapes made up of stars, polygonal planets and dynamically shifting patterns projected in large format throughout the set, Broken Bells' second Hollywood gig played out like a cruise through the far reaches of the universe, each song part of a soundtrack to another kaleidoscopic world.

Since announcing themselves as "the greatest band on Earth" before even releasing their first album in 2001, novelty duo Tenacious D has been known for using self-promoting superlatives liberally -- and under threat of obscene berating, they refuse to be told otherwise.

So when Jack Black introduced last night's Stand with Haiti benefit show at the Wiltern as "the most powerful night of rock-comedy" ever -- "the Prius of benefits," co-founding member Kyle Gass added -- well, nobody jeered.

After a soulful (painful?) rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by former Saturday Night Live star Maya Rudolph, followed closely with a surprise interpretive dance by her former co-star Will Ferrell to "Popcorn," the fluke '70s hit by short-lived instrumental group Hot Butter, the bar was set well above anyone's expectations.

While Radiohead's recent benefit show at the Fonda was so spectacular for its low-key, bare-bones delivery, Tenacious D & Friends Stand with Haiti was stunning for nearly the opposite reason: the entire show was star-studded and over-the-top, culminating in comedic relief to ease minds amid the ongoing Haitian disaster.

So Dave Matthews Band got robbed of the Grammy for album of the year to a cute kid who can't carry a tune. Ah, well -- it isn't the first time a great group with a huge following has been snubbed in favor of the flavor of the month. (It's happened to Radiohead three times now.)

Besides, Daveheads, what would you rather see -- DMB win a big fat Grammy or another show?

What disappoints is the opener: Brett Dennen. Nice guy, nice tunes, but other stretches of the trek are getting warm-up sets from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, the Felice Brothers, Amos Lee, Ben Harper & the Relentless7, Gov't Mule, Raphael Saadiq and Grammy's choice for best new artist, Zac Brown Band.

For those who follow Dave everywhere he goes, or at least along the West Coast, the tour also lands Aug. 25 at the Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord, Aug. 27 at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Wheatland, Aug. 28 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, then Sept. 3-5 at the Gorge in Quincy, Wash. Most of these shows go on sale Feb. 26.